Travel Guide for Perth Australia: Including Tips for House Sitting in Perth

September 26, 2016

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During our time in Australia we’ve lived in Perth for a little over a month. Actually, it was our final destination in Australia before we went to Nepal to start our Asian adventure. One thing that really made our time in Perth comfortable was that we were house sitting. This made it possible for us to spent more of our money on fun things to do! Housesitting is a great way to really feel like a local, and it was great to experience local life in Perth. In this article I share great restaurants in Perth and 6 fun activities to do in Perth. Furthermore, in this article you can also find tips for house sitting in Perth, such as a great organisation to use to get house sits, where to get your first house sits and more tips. Perth is an amazing destination in Australia!

Travel Guide for Perth, Australia

In Australia, the biggest cities can be found along the east and south coasts. Then way on the other side of the outback there is Perth, with a population of more than two million people. Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, is the most isolated capital city in the world. It’s also one of the sunniest capital city in the world. Which is funny to me, since it was actually quite cold while we were there!

The beautiful city of Perth, a cosmopolitan city with an impressive skyline, surrounded by the Swan River and Kings Park. Western Australia is the largest state of Australia, and Perth is the capital city in this state. It is claimed that Perth is the most isolated capital city in the world. If we compare our experience of staying in one of the most remote towns (Halls Creek) we’ve ever been, to staying in one of the most remote cities (Perth), then there is one big difference. In a remote town, you actually notice that it’s remote. In a remote city, not so much. Mostly because it’s still like any other city, and there is still a lot to do.

How to travel around in Perth

Perth is available by car, bus, airplane, railway and even by boat. When we went to Perth, we drove up with our own car. This was great, because we had our own car in Perth too, making it easy to travel around town. In the last week of our visit, we had sold our car (because we left for Asia) and we were allowed to use the car of the place we were house sitting (another perk!).

Driving in Perth: rent your own car

Driving in Perth is pretty easy and straightforward, except that it’s on the left side like everywhere in Australia. However, you really get used to this quickly. If you want to self drive, but you don’t have a car, you can also decide to rent a car. For this you need a valid driver’s license. It’s not required to have a international driver’s license, but you do get more options if you have one.

Public transport in Perth

We made use of the bus and train in Perth, and it was easy to use. In total there are five train lines that go to other areas, such as Armadale, Fremantle, Midland, Joondalup and Mandurah. The bus connects a lot of parts of the city with each other, making it a convenient way to travel.

6 Fun things to do in Perth

1. Go shopping in Perth

Perth offers a lot of shopping options. Not only can you buy the latest fashion, but also unique Aboriginal art, antiques and more. There are malls, weekend markets and summer night markets. Some of the highlights are: King Street, Fremantle Markets, Perth Laneways, Subiaco, Mount Lawley, Claremont and Leederville. The city centre of Perth is open seven days a week!

If you are a bargain hunter like us, you’ll love Watertown Brand Outlet Centre on Wellington Street. Here you can find discounted products and factory seconds from big name retailers.

2. Visit one of the beaches in Perth

Perth is home to 19 beaches with a total of 12,500 kilometers of coastline. One of the most iconic beaches in Perth is Cottesloe Beach. Swim, surf, snorkel, picnic or a drink by the sea – it’s all possible at Cottesloe.

Another popular beach in Perth is City Beach. An uncrowded, rather small and clean place, where beach goers come to enjoy the sun. It’s a 20 minute drive west of Perth city. Go for a boardwalk, make a seaside stroll, or have a lovely picnic.

Scarborough Beach is another popular beach in Perth, with beautiful white sand and big waves, making it a good place for a surf. Brighton Beach, a short walk from Scarborough, is a spacious beach where you can expect big waves. It’s less crowded than Scarborough Beach, making it a more peaceful place.

3. Go for a walk in Kings Park

Kings Park and Botanic Garden is one of the biggest inner city parks in the world. It’s a great place to go for a picnic and enjoy the skyline of the city, as the park overlooks Perth City and Swan River. The park also has a large collection of Western Australia flora, and it’s great to have a walk around the park, or visit one of the events that take place. The total area of Kings Park is 400.6 hectares and features both cultivated gardens and untamed bushland.

Opened in 1965, the park features a scientific collection mainly of Western Australian plants. The Botanic Garden is unique from those around the world by maintaining its focus on local flora, primarily because of the extraordinary diversity of Western Australian wildflowers found nowhere else on earth.

In the park you can enjoy free guided walks that are led by volunteer guides. They depart every day from outside Aspects of Kings Park at 10am, 12pm and 2pm. Self-guided walks are also possible, as there are walking trails you can follow. Brochures are available from the Visitors Information Centre.

When we went to Kings Park, we took a blanket with us, spread it out on the grass and enjoyed a nice picknick!

4. Take a day trip to Rottnest Island

Rottnest Island is located just 19 kilometers off the coast of Perth. It truly has one of the most beautiful coastline you can find, pristine bays and some very interesting local wildlife. To get there you can take a ferry ride from Perth or Fremantle, or you can even choose to fly with Kookaburra Air, Rottnest Air Taxi, or Rotorvation Helicopters.

On Rottnest Island there are plenty activities. It is possible to go on a guided walk, go snorkeling, rent a bike, or swim and relax by the gorgeous stunning waters. One of the most popular activities is probably encountering the local quokkas and taking a selfie with them. Just be sure you don’t feed or touch the quokkas when doing so.

5. Spent a weekend in Margaret River

When you’re in Perth, we recommend visiting the beautiful wine region Margaret River. The Margaret River Region is an easy three hour drive south of Perth. Here you can kayak, stand-up-paddle board, surf, explore some of the caves, climb the lighthouses, walk along the largest jetty in the southern hemisphere. But also go for a tasting; eat and drink in one of the wineries, breweries, restaurants, chocolatiers, farmer’s markets and confectionary producers.

We took a three day trip to this region, and explored the beaches and went to the wineries for some tastings. There are multiple wine tours to choose from, but we advice you to just visit some of the wineries. We just walked in and you could do a free tasting.

Hamelin Bay is one of the best places in Australia to spot wild sting rays. We went there, but unfortunately we couldn’t see any. Probably, because it was too cold. We would therefore recommend going to Margaret River in the summertime to have a bigger chance to encounter these incredible animals on the coast.

6. Have breakfast at one of the cool breakfast places in Perth

Like in Melbourne, Perth has a lot of amazing breakfast spots! I love using the Instagram Breakfast in Perth as inspiration. After browsing the amazing photos of moutwatering dishes, we eventually choose to go to Harvest Espresso in Victoria Park. Here Jeffrey had the lovely Doughnut with foie gras ganache, fairy gloss and seasonal berries. I had the tasty mushroom omelette, but of course I was a bit jealous with the creation in front of Jeffrey. Unfortunately, I don’t eat meat.

We also visited Kava Café Bicton where we both had delicious matcha pancakes, one with pistachio and one with Oreo. Yum!

Affordable and delicious restaurants in Perth

Not only can you find great places for breakfast, Perth is also great for lunch and dinner. We were lucky enough that our friends, who lived in Perth for a few months, showed us some great (and cheap!) places to eat in Perth.

1. Taka’s Kitchen

Do you like sushi? We love it. Luckily, in Perth you can easily find a lot of sushi restaurants. One of those is Taka’s Kitchen, and it’s even very cheap too. For approximately $30 you can have a big meal for two.

Address

Shop 5

Shafto Lane 397 Murray Street, Perth WA 6000

Opening hours

Monday – Thursday: 11.00 – 20.30

Friday: 11.00 – 21.00

Saturday: 11.00 – 20.30

Sunday: 12.00 – 15.30

2. Annalakshmi

If you like Indian and vegetarian food, we know another cheap, and quite special place to go. Annalakshmi, located on the banks of the Swan, is open seven days a week. What makes this place special is not only it’s food, but also that you pay as you feel, instead of fixed prices on a menu. On their website you can find why:

Food is meant for sustenance of life and nobody is to be deprived. Annalakshmi is not a soup kitchen, or a place to feed socially deprived. Instead it is a place that supports the act of giving, from the heart. For example, a mother prepares and cooks a meal with love, selflessly for nourishment and well-being. At Annalakshmi, food is cooked with selfless love and positive energy. This food infused with love and positive energy, when consumed becomes a healing nectar and food for the soul.

We thought it was a great idea, and we went there to experience it. The food was simple, but tasty. It’s just like a small buffet with rice, curries and vegetables.

Address

Barrack Square

Jetty 4 Riverside Dr, Perth WA 6000

Opening hours

Monday – Sunday: 12.00 – 14.00 for lunch, 18.00 – 21.00 for dinner

3. Carnagies

Our first night in Perth and our friends took us to Carnegie’s for cocktails and dinner. Every wednesday the cocktails and food are half price. That really makes a big difference. To be honest, the cocktails are better than the food. I’m not saying the food is bad, it’s just nothing special.

Address

356 Murray St, Perth WA 6000

Opening hours

Monday – Thursday: 11.00 – 01.00

Friday & Saturday: 11.00 – 03.00

Sunday: 11.00 – 12.00

Tips for House Sitting in Perth

A great way to save on accommodation is by house sitting. Usually, house sitting is completely free (some people even get paid to do it). The owner of the home is away for work or holidays and want to make sure someone is in their home, keeping burglars away. Often with house sitting there are also pets involved that you need to take care of.

What is house sitting?

House sitting gives you the feeling of being a local, because even though you don’t pay rent, you do live in that house for a certain time. It’s different than staying in a hotel, because you do groceries, you make dinner and you tidy the house.

If you’re going to Perth and you’re looking for a house sit, contact All Pets Housesitters before you go. There you can apply to become a house sitter for one of their clients. We are currently doing exactly that; housesitting in a gorgeous house in East Fremantle. This is completely free. It is required that you have experience with housesitting, and that you actually like pets.

If you can’t find a house sit via All Pets Housesitters, try other house sitting websites:

Aussie House Sitters

Aussie House Sitters isn’t free. To be able to apply for house sits via this website, you need to pay $65 for a year. This website has a lot of listings in Australia and a lot of experienced house sitters recommended this website to us for our travels in Australia.

Trusted House Sitters

Trusted House Sitters is on a subscription basis from either $10.75/month or $95.2 for a year. It’s the largest house sitting website on the web and has the most listings all over the world, also Australia and Perth.

If you don’t want to house sit in Perth or if you’re looking for more possibilities, you can also consider Airbnb. We always recommend checking airbnb, wherever you are going. Sometimes you can really find awesome and cheap places to stay in great locations. If you’ve never used Airbnb before, use our referral link and get a discount on your booking!

We hope this article is useful for your visit to Perth! This post is currently being updated, so be sure to save it for more information for your visit to Perth!

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